Internal Bleeding

Is bleeding which occurs inside the body. Sometimes the blood will leak from inside the body through natural openings. Other times the blood stays inside the body, causing pain and shock, even though you cannot see the blood loss.

Causes

Internal bleeding can be caused numerous ways. Any time someone could have internal bleeding, you will do no harm by treating them for internal bleeding, but not treating the victim could lead to death.

Some causes include:

Falls

Car Accidents

Motorcycle Accidents

Pedestrians Struck by a Vehicle

Gun Shot Wounds

Injuries from Explosions

Impaled Objects

Stab Wounds

Surgery

Recognition

A person may be bleeding internally if one of these things happens:

Blood comes out of the nose or mouth (occurs from severe head trauma)

Blood or clear fluid comes out of the ear (occurs from severe head trauma)

Blood is in the stool

Blood is in the urine

Bright red blood, or blood like ‘coffee-grounds’, is in the vomit

Bruising over the abdominal or chest area

Pain over vital organs

Fractured femur

But remember, a person may be bleeding inside the body, even though you cannot see the bleeding. If you see the signs of shock and no apparent injuries, always suspect internal bleeding. Check the skin color changes. In cases of internal bleeding the skin may become pale and cold, and cyanosis may be present.

Treatment

As with any victim, before treating, put on disposable gloves if possible and take other necessary body substance isolation precautions.

Call 911

If the victim has ABC complications, treat those first – CPR always has priority.